Don’t Blame Cannabis for Schizophrenia Induced Suicides
I really don’t like to write these kinds of articles, but alas I am forced to. I don’t like to talk about people who kill themselves because I know that there are family members still in mourning. I don’t think suicide is something we should take lightly. There are more people killing themselves every year and unhappiness is growing among younger generations.
However, whenever I read an article where people try to pin a suicide on cannabis, I have to intervene. I understand that parents can become emotional and require someone or something to blame. It couldn’t be “Johnny” or “Sarah” that took their own lives. It must have been “something that influenced them”.
They do this not to be dicks, but to find some sort of rational explanation as to why someone they loved, often times a child, decided to end their own lives.
For the sake of this article, I won’t name anyone but instead will only talk in general terms about a recent story I read.
Understanding the Story
The story I’m referring to talks about a person who committed suicide. The parent decided to write their grief on a media outlet. While the parent claims that they aren’t against legalization or in any way in favor of prohibition, they do make a few suggestions to make cannabis safer.
Throughout the article, they spoke about the relationship their child had with cannabis. How he moved to Colorado and got a medical cannabis card at the age of eighteen.
Since then, dropped out of college after a few years. He eventually was caught driving under the influence and was on probation for two years. During this time, he quit his consumption of cannabis and things seemed to be more stable.
Once the probation period expired, he continued to smoke cannabis. He quit his job and started smoking heavily.
He was subsequently arrested again during a “psychotic episode” and fled from the police. It was then he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. His behavior worsened and he would inflict self-harm if he didn’t get his way. Things like, not getting money for weed would provoke him to stab himself.
This eventually escalated until he completely ended his own existence. When the coroner’s report came in, there was only THC in his body.
And thus, the parents of this poor conflicted soul could only conclude that cannabis was at fault. However, this isn’t true in the slightest.
Schizophrenia is a Killer!
I’m not saying that cannabis didn’t play a role in his digression. Obviously high potency THC wasn’t helping his condition at all. However, once the man was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, he should have been prohibited from using marijuana at all.
He should have gone into care and under treatment. He should have been given a regimen of medication including lithium, anti-depressives and so forth. He should have been subjected to rigorous counseling and his mental health should have become top priority.
However, the story failed to mention that. It failed to showcase how society as a whole failed him. We don’t have adequate mental health facilities. We don’t have the support systems in place to help people who are going through personal hell on earth.
It’s far simpler to blame a plant for the action an individual took who was under the influence of a mental affliction.
While roughly 5% of people who are diagnosed with Schizophrenia tend to be suicidal, it doesn’t mean that the other 95% don’t get the ideas.
Schizophrenics also tend to get manic quite easily, and during these dissociative states, they can inflict harm. In fact, it’s safe to say that most people who are willing to commit suicide are in some sort of psychotic/manic state.
I agree, we should have protections in place for people who suffer from schizophrenia. Perhaps, if someone is schizophrenic, they should be blacklisted to buy high potency THC from dispensaries and be limited to CBD-prominent products. Considering that CBD is a neurocontroller, helps with depression and anxiety and helps counter-act the psychoactive properties of THC.
Protect those who need protection
Most people who smoke high potency weed will never have a problem with it. However, those who do have a genetic pre-disposition for mental issues such as Scizophrenia, it might be a problem.
Thus, it’s only fair that you create protections for those who would be most affected. However, for a healthy consenting adult, there should never be limitations on the potency you can or cannot smoke.
If you believe that there should be a limit, then we should also limit all alcohol products to 3% or less, considering that alcohol is responsible for a lot of suicides, homicides, and violence.
What really needs to happen is that we need to recognize that some people need mental assistance, and it’s in our best interest as a society to provide these sanctuaries. It will only help make our world is safer place where even people, like the victim in question, could get the help they deserve.
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